Defiance Helped Buliisa Member of Parliament to retain his Seat|GMEPA NEWS

from R-L are MP. Stephen Biraahwa Mukitale, MP. Norah Bigirwa Mutiti with her husband Fred Bigirwa while at the function in Buliisa on Saturday

The Member of Parliament for Buliisa County in western Uganda, Stephen Biraahwa Mukitale has said that had it not been his character of defiance, he would not have retained his seat in parliament.

Speaking during a thanks giving ceremony that was organized jointly together with Norah Bigirwa Mutiti, the woman Member of Parliament for Buliisa district held at district headquarters on Saturday, Biraahwa who lost NRM party ticket during primary elections to Godfrey Kamugisa said that he contested party principles and bounced back as an independent candidate during general elections.

Biraahwa recited that, in primary elections, over 5,000 names of his supporters were deleted from NRM party voters’ register and even when he won in the primary elections, he was never declared a winner. He thanked the resident district commissioner, Peter Bisoborwa together with the district security committee for having provided leveled ground during campaign period.

“The people of Buliisa decided to elect me during elections organized by Independent Electoral Commission and that is why Buliisa is now an independent district having an independent LCV chairperson, Agaaba Simon Kinene. We also thank NRM party for having put a provision in the constitution for people to stand as independent candidates otherwise the people of Buliisa would have been denied their right to elect leaders of their choice”, he added.

Biraahwa disclosed that, in 2011 general elections, Norah Bigirwa Mutiti won elections for district woman Member of Parliament and she celebrated with her voters for two days but when results were sent to Kampala to gazette her name, instead her competitor and the then incumbent woman MP Beatrice Mpairwe was declared a winner.

Speaking at the same function, the area Woman Member of Parliament, Norah Bigirwa Mutiti promised to work together with clan leaders and vowed not to disappoint her voters. She condemned poor performance by children in primary schools within the district something she attributed to use of external languages as mode of instruction.

Children in Buliisa are taught in Runyoro and English yet their mother tongue is Lugungu. Bigirwa therefore wants Lugungu to have orthography in the national education curriculum to enable children in lower primary school classes in Buliisa district to easily grasp what is taught to them.

She also condemned abuse of child rights in schools most especially defilement and threatened to cause arrest of child rights abusers including parents who do not want to send their children to school.

The function was attended by several Members of Parliament from Bunyoro sub region, Bunyoro Kitara Kingdom officials led by their prime minister, Norman Lukumu, religious leaders and residents of Buliisa.